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Helen Griffiths

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in London, The United Kingdom

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August 2018

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Although Helen Griffiths retired from writing junior fiction some 30 years ago, her books are still being read by fans and new readers in various parts of the world, perhaps because the themes are timeless and therefore don't date.

She wrote her first "story" with chalk on a school slate when she was 5 years old; was awarded the Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize (given only every 3 years to a London school child) when she was 12, and had her first book published at age 17. This was "Horse in the Clouds" which immediately became an international success. She was commended by the prestigious Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Awards for "The Wild Horse of Santander"; received the Dutch Silver Pencil Award for "Witch Fear" (voted the best children's Although Helen Griffiths retired from writing junior fiction some 30 years ago, her books are still being read by fans and new readers in various parts of the world, perhaps because the themes are timeless and therefore don't date.

She wrote her first "story" with chalk on a school slate when she was 5 years old; was awarded the Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize (given only every 3 years to a London school child) when she was 12, and had her first book published at age 17. This was "Horse in the Clouds" which immediately became an international success. She was commended by the prestigious Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal Awards for "The Wild Horse of Santander"; received the Dutch Silver Pencil Award for "Witch Fear" (voted the best children's book of the year in Holland), and was given the honorary title of "Daughter of Mark Twain" for her only adult novel, "The Dark Swallows".

Most of her books have been published throughout Europe and in the USA, as well as in countries as diverse as Argentina, Iceland and Israel, while "Witch Fear" ("The Mysterious Appearance of Agnes" in USA) still sells in Germany ("Hoxentochter").

While busily producing a new title every year, Helen also produced 3 daughters who have since provided her with 13 grandchildren and, more recently, 3 great grandchildren.

Born in London, brought up in West Yorkshire, and living some 20 years in Spain before finally settling in Bath, a city totally unknown to her before her arrival there, these very different places forged her writing career as well as her character. She has worked as a cow girl, a secretary, a teacher of English as a foreign language among other things, as well as writing books and being a wife and mother. In Spain she was always rescuing street dogs; in Bath she somehow managed to acquire as many as 5 horses (looked after by her daughters). One of her best-loved books, and which received many fan letters from young readers, was "Just a Dog", a partially true story of how Shadow became a much loved member of the family and who eventually was brought to Bath because of her astonishing faithfulness and intuition.

Her husband's sudden death in a car crash while the children were still young brought Helen back to England, and it was in Bath that she became a Christian, giving her a totally new life. She has written several books for a Christian publisher under her married name - Helen Santos - which have also been published internationally. But, this apart, for some 15 years she has had a teaching/preaching ministry and her sermons, if published, would doubtless fill a dozen books.

Helen was invited to write an autobiographical sketch which appeared in the series "Something About the Author, Vol 5", published by Gale Research Co., Michigan, where a more detailed biography can be found. She now has the company of 2 little dogs, as well as regular visits from grandchildren who have persuaded her to republish some of her most popular titles as e-books.

"The Greyhound" and "The Dark Swallows" are now available on Kindle and Amazon, the cover artist being one of her granddaughters, and "The Last Summer" is in preparation.

She wrote "The Dark Swallows" while she was very young, basing the main plot on a true story told to her by a next-door neighbour about her mother and brothers during and after the Spanish Civil War. Before republishing many years later, she felt some revision was needed. The story is the same but she trusts that anyone re-reading it might find it enhanced by the revisions, while new readers might be satisfied.

She can be contacted at: jolly.santos@gmail.com ...more

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Average rating: 4.11 · 451 ratings · 67 reviews · 43 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Greyhound 4.57 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 1964 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Just a Dog 4.02 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 1974 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hexentochter by Helen Griffiths (Goodreads Author), Cornelia Funke (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator ) 3.57 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1975 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moshie Cat; The True Adventures of a Majorcan Kitten. 3.79 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 1969 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wild Heart (Peacock Books) 4.52 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1963 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackface Stallion by Helen Griffiths (Goodreads Author), Victor G. Ambrus 4.09 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 1980 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wild Horse of Santander really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1966 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Leon by Helen Griffiths (Goodreads Author), Victor G. Ambrus (Illustrator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1967 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dog at the Window 3.40 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1984 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Summer: Spain 1936 by Helen Griffiths (Goodreads Author), Victor G. Ambrus 3.69 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1979 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Gaviota (2 books)
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The Coral Island

by R.M. Ballantyne

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Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine

by Dorothy L. Sayers

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Abolition of Man

by C.S. Lewis

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Helen Griffiths rated a book it was amazing Paradise Regained (Paradise series Book 2) by John Milton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Beautifully composed Full of truth and wisom; beautifully composed but needing careful reading by anyone not accustomed to old English. Well worth the effort, however.
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Quotes by Helen Griffiths (?)

“Jamie was not lonely any more and neither was Silver, Sometimes Jamie talked lengthily to his dog and at other times he would sit silently with him, not needing to speak, feeling the warmth of his presence, filled with contentment by the very knowledge that the greyhound was his completely—not just a possession, but a living, breathing, warm-blooded creature who gave Jamie love and company; who trusted him as he had never been trusted; who gave him a feeling of importance and surrounded him with security from the ache of loneliness which he had known before Silver became his dog.”
― Helen Griffiths, The Greyhound

tags: dogs, greyhound

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“Whatever it was that possessed him, he wouldn't have said it was love for that was a word outside his vocabulary. He just felt what he felt and the wind seemed less bitter and the sun brighter because of it.”
― Helen Griffiths, Grip, a Dog Story

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Goodreads Librari...: Please Merge these Editions	3	499	Oct 09, 2022 03:56AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Teen/ YA fiction. Poor English boy befriends dog. [s]	5	15	Feb 26, 2024 03:46PM

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